AlexanderLee

Contributing writer for The Artifice.

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    Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Is it really canon?

    This purpose of this article is to determine whether or not the recently published rehearsal script for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child should be considered as a new addition to the Harry Potter canon. In other words, this article would focus on the mixed reception from fans, J.K Rowling's involvement in the project (or lack thereof) and argue for or against the play as part of the overall Harry Potter story timeline.

    • Does reception decide what "canon" is? Or is the fact that JK Rowling an author already confirm its legitimacy? Keep in mind that it is a theatrical play. – Christen Mandracchia 8 years ago
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    • Fan reception does not dictate what is and is not canon. Canon is decided by whoever owns the creative rights. – Steven Gonzales 8 years ago
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    • Alright, I see both of your points. In some ways I agree and disagree at the same time. While I think canon is determined by the author, I also believe that an individual's 'personal' canon (the fan perspective) is valid and worthy of study. However, that's just my opinion. – AlexanderLee 8 years ago
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    • This is interesting, because "canon" is typically whatever the original author claims it to be. However, Cursed Child uses any number of ideas embraced by the fandom community long before the Cursed Child was written (friendship between Albus and Scorpius, Albus being in Slytherin, etc). Does the relationship between author and fandom change what the "canon" is? Does it give the fandom more ownership of the material? – sophiacatherine 8 years ago
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    • To me, it's not like an author's word about canon it's always law. Not without previous preconditions. Such as (among some others) authorship (it seems banal, but maybe not that banal) and underlying consistency. In this case, CC is not written by JK Rowling, even if she approved it, and shows major incoherencies if juxtaposed with the HP books (and movies). So, it maybe be "canon" in the sense that it's officially part of the Wizarding World trademark, the way movie adaptations are, but it's not properly literary canon. The author's word for it just does not suffice. If JK went mad and proclaimed canonic some scribble on a handkerchief she just found, should we take it as a fact just because "ipse dixit"? Canon is not defined solely neither by the author nor by fans. It is defined by facts. Fact is, fanfiction cannot be canon even if the author vouches for it. – emeraldnose 7 years ago
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    • The problem with The Cursed Child is that it doesn't have that same aura that the first seven Harry Potter books had. The main reason is that it isn't exclusively written by JK Rowling. Whatever, what really causes a problem with this last book is that it feels like JK just ran out of money and attention and decided that school books from the Potter universe weren't enough, so she decided to write a sequel. The problem is that, when it's not written with the soul, it's not... The same. TCC felt like a bunch of poorly written fanfictions all thrown there and mixed together, with a bunch of fanservice and totally crazy and unrealistic - almost ridiculous - plot twists for the sole purpose to serve a story that nobody asked for. TCC doesn't feel like a Harry Potter book, something's missing, and that's what doesn't make it canon. – Nad 7 years ago
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    Latest Comments

    I saw Gone Girl twice before reading the novel and I found that both the film and the book leave you wondering if everything we know about Amy (and her distinct personas) was all an act. I believe the ambiguity is much more interesting than a definitive answer.
    It seems realistic for Amy to project her self-loathing onto other women since she recognizes something about them that she dislikes within herself. Also, the “cool girl” passage is one of the most memorable and telling lines in the book. Glad to see it referenced in your article! Very interesting read!

    Identity in Eastern Promises (2007) and Gone Girl (2014)

    Very interesting read! I think there’s something to be said about the fact that many early examples of AIDS-related activism has been widely criticized for “de-gaying” the cause, particularly for the AIDS Memorial Quilt and Philadelphia. The filmmakers intended to address a subject as complex as HIV and AIDS, but decided to soften the blow to mainstream audiences by not unsettling them with so-called non-normative sexuality on screen. That being said, I still see the film as a significant step towards a better understanding of the AIDS epidemic, even if the cinematic representation of gay men was deliberately sacrificed in the process. I suppose one could argue that the screenwriters simply had to pick their battles. Thanks for writing!

    Philadelphia and AIDS: Looking Past the Pedantry

    Great work! As a film studies student, I have noticed this unfortunate trend of the expendable queer character in both television and film. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend watching the documentary “The Celluloid Closet” based on the book by Vito Russo. Historically, the earliest examples of LGBTQ characters in cinema have been depicted as bloodthirsty monsters, tragic figures who end up dead, or both.

    In the recent case of The Walking Dead (mentioned above), it is upsetting in my opinion that the death of Denise was the result of an adaptation change from the source material. As soon as her relationship with Tara is beginning to flourish (a relationship that does not occur in the comics), she is suddenly killed off to further the plot of several heterosexual characters. And the worst part is: the show-runners never included a scene of Tara grieving for Denise! She is curiously absent and it’s frustrating, as if their relationship never happened.

    Queer Death in Media: Drawing Attention to the Bloodshed